Armored shoe



S P 3- A. A. WIILLIAMSII Re. 18,932

ARHORED SHOE Ofiginal Fil ed Nov. 1 9, 1929 Reissued Sept. 5, 1933 115,932 ARMORED silos Arthur A. Williams, Holliston, Mass.

Original No. 1,823,924, dated September 22, 1931,

Serial No. 408,223,.November 19, 1929. Application for reissue March 28, 1933. Serial 7 Claims.

My invention relates to boots andv shoes, and particularly to armored boots and shoes for workmen. W

The object of this invention is to provide an improved armored-boot or shoe especially designed for use'by foundry men, machinists'and the like, and which will protect the feet from injury by falling eastihg's or other heavy objects.

Workmen in foundries, machine shops and like places who wear unarmored shoes of ordinary construction frequently. have their foot crushed or otherwise injured by heavy castings or the like falling thereon, and sometimes the injury is such that it is necessary to cut the shoe away from the foot. y j

My invention provides a boot or shoe having the attractive exterior appearance of an ordinary boot or shoe but which has incorporated in the toe portion thereof a metallic box made from heavy gauge sheet metal moulded to conform to the shape of the toe portion of the boot or shoe within which latter it is completely embedded and held or pocketed in such manner or that, in the event that the metallic box is .crushed down into the foot of the wearer so as to prevent withdrawal of the foot from the shoe in the ordinary manner, said metallic box canbe readily removed from the shoe structure by merely slitting the toe portion of upper that is outside of the metallic box, thereby freeing the latter so that it can be lifted outof place thus freeing the foot.

In the best form .of my invention the heavy gauge sheet metal box is made from steel and is hardened and tempered so as to withstand great crushing pressures without distortion.

The metal boxes of shoes made by me, in accordance with this invention withstand a pressureof over five thousand pounds. It will thus be apparent that my invention does not consist in merely constructing-the toe of a shoe' or. the like witha sheet metal .toe box, but in providing the same with a shield for the toes of the '45 wearer'which will withstand great pressures tendhereinafter workmans shoe constructed in accordance with my invention.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the sheet metal toe box forming part of the shoe shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a section on line 33 of Figure 2.' Figure 4 is a view like Figure 3 but-showing another form of sheet metal toe box.

Having reference to the drawing 1 is the vamp of the upper of a workmans shoe within which is provided the usual lining 2. At 3 is the usual toe cap whose rear marginal portion is fitted against the outside of the upper leatherl and fastenedto the latter by several lines of stitches 4.

The stitches 4, just referred to, also assist in holding a sheet metal toe box 5 in position between the upper leather 1 and the leather toe cap 3. This toe box 5 is preferably made from com- .paratively heavy gauge sheet steel which is hardenedgand tempered so that it will strongly resist any pressures tending to, crush or distort the same. Also said metal box is made, toe-shaped as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. being formed. with a top wall 6 and a skirt '7 which extends from one side of the box around the front thereof to the rear of the box at the opposite side thereof. As shown clearly in the drawing the lower marginal portion 8, of the toe bo'xfi is set inwardly but terminates outside of the inseam stitches 9, Fig. l, by which the welt 10, leather .toe cap 3, upper land lining 2 are fastened -to the .innersole 11 of the shoe.

Thus the metal toe box 5 is ,completely embedded within theupper of the shoe and is pocketed between the stitches 9 and 4 so that it is held against displacement within its pocket.

A toe box 5 made as above described will withstand great blows and pressures but it is pos-' sible, of course, that a weight may fall upon thefoot of the wearer of the shoe with enough force either to crush the toe box 5or to drive it downwardly into the foot of .the wearer. In such an event the toe ,cap would, or would tend to lock the foot of the wearer within the shoe but it is a distinct advantage to the above described structure that the foot can, under such circumstances, be quickly freed from. the shoe by drawing a knife blade horizontally around the leather toe cap 3 near the baseof the latter, thereby permitting said leather toe cap to be raised so that the metal box'5 is easily removable.

The form of sheet metal toe box shown in Fig. Ahas its' bottom and rear edges thickened and made blunt by upsetting the 'marginal portions thereof as shown 'at 12 and 13. This form of toe box has the advantage that its edges arenot so sharp as the edges of the box shown in Fig; 3 so that there isless likelihood oisaid edges cutting through the leather or.other parts sov to form a seat extending thereabout and supporting the box against-downward thrust.

of the shoe when a-heavy downward and inward pressure is exerted upon the box by a. falling weight or the-like than is the case with the form I shown in Big. 3.-

It is a -feature of both forms oi metal box herein described that the bottom marginal porltion'of each is turned inwardly .asfshown for example so that this portion seats flatwise upon the portion of the shoe directly beneath it and by. which it' is supported against downward thrust. Furthermore, the inturned marginal portion is received within a natural pocket 'i'ormed by the line of inseam stitches within and below'the ,outer edge of the insole; measurably "aiding in the retention of the metal box against displacement within the pocket and causing pressure upon the box to be transmitted to the un-.

derlying welt and outsole without tendencyto cut or injure the latter. What is claimed is:

1. A boot or shoe of the character described a sole, an upper having two complete toe portions, one portion being in the nature of an exterior toe cap, meansfor fastening the two portions together by a seam extending transversely of the upper, means fastening the lower marginal portions of saidtoe cap and 0! said upper to-the'soIe, and arigid metal toe box wholly disposedbetween' said two fastening; means and between said toe cap and said toe portion-o! the upper to, protect the toes oi the wearer, the metal box having an inwardly turnedportion shaped 2; A boot or shoeoi the character described a shoe upper and insole, atoe cap surrounding the upper at the toe portion, aline of stitchesconnecting the rear portion ,0! the toe cap andiupper, a welt, a line of stitches connecting'thewelt, upper, 'toe cap and insole, a

rigid metal boxbetween the upperand between the stitched-seams, and anoutsole connected to the shoe and covering Aboot-or shoeot thecharacterdescribed comprlsing-a-shoe upperand insole, atoe cap surrounding the upper at thetoe portion, a line otstitches'connecting-the. rear portion of the'toe cap a-welt, a line 01' stitches connectimthe welt,-upper,toe cap and insole, a rigid metbl'box inserted between the upper and the toe cap and lyingbetween the stitchedseams; havingan inturned lowerporr'tionto aflord a seat tor the box tbroughwhieh pressure is transmitted totheinturnedtoeeapandsupporting welt there-' races beneath, and arfoutsole connected to the shoe and covering the inseam.

4. A boot or shoe comprising an insole and an outsole, a rigid metal box having an inturned bottom marginal portion extending thereabout, oppositely disposed layers of upper material encompassing thetoe box, means forvconnecting the under side of: the insole and layers of upper material beyond the inturned edge of the toe box with the inturned flange of the latter lying within' the natural inturned pocket formed in. the layers of upper material through the connection between the insole and upper to maintain the toe box against displacement throughout its lower edge, and an outsole connected to the shoe and covering the inseam. I

5. A boot or shoe comprising an insole, a welt, a rigid metal box having an inturned marginal .flange extending thereabout at the bottom, op-

positely disposed layers of upper material enclosing the toe boxand extending "beyond'the lower edge of the box, an inseam for connecting the welt, the under portion of the insole and layers of upper material beyond the inturned edge of the toe box, the portion of the upper material joined by the inseam lying within and below the outer margin of the insole to provide a natural inturned pocket in the upper materiai within which the inturned flange of the toe box lies to prevent displacement of any portion of the toe box throughout itslower edge, and an outsole connected to .theshoe and covering the in'seam.

6. A boot or shoe oi the character described comprising an insole, a welt, a rigid metal toe box, oppositely-disposed layers of upper material encompassing the toe box and extending 'beyond the lower edge of the toe box, a line of inseam stitches connecting the'welt, insole and layers of upper material beyond the lower edge of the toe box, and an outsole connected to the shoe and covering the inseam. e 1

'I. A boot or shoe of the character described comprising an insole and an outsole, a rigid metal box having an inturned bottom marginal portion extending substantially completely there-'- 1 about to provide a supporting flange for the box when crushing pressure is, exerted thereon, the; iiange being comparatively-narrow with respect to the dimensions of the box and oi insuflicientwidth to encase thetoes of the wearer therein,--12J oppositely disposed layers of -material encompassing the toe box, means 'f01 connecting ,the insole and layersot material beyond the inturned edge ofthe toe box .to provide a pocket from which thebox may bereadily removed by sever- 1,33

ing the outer. layerof material, and an outsole connected to the shoe and covering the inseam. 1 an'rnon a.

ldl. 

